What Affects Your Washington Auto Insurance Rates?
Reader’s Question:
I know that Washington auto insurance rates vary. What I’m curious about is what affect insurance rates here?
Michael
Olympia, WA
There are many factors that set a person’s Washington auto insurance rates. According to the Washington State of the Insurance Commissioner website, here are these factors:
- Age. According to statistics, drivers who are under the age of 25 are involved in more accidents than those who are 25 – 65 years old.
- Sex. Believe it or not but according to studies, male drivers who are under 25 years of age are involved in more accidents and they do pay more in their auto insurance rates.
- Marital status. According to statistics, single drivers have more accidents as compared to married couples.
- Vehicle. In most cases, the more expensive your vehicle is, the higher your auto insurance rates will be.
- Location. The crime rate where you live affects your insurance rates. So living in an area where crime rates are low would be good since you can get lower insurance rates for that.
- Driving Miles. The higher your annual driving miles, the higher your insurance rates may be.
- Credit History. Your credit score also partly determines your insurance rates. If you have good credit score then you may just get better auto insurance rates.
- Driving record. The better your driving records, the lower your insurance rates may be.
Those are the known factors that affect your Washington auto insurance rates. Remember, each auto insurance company follows various guidelines in determining a person’s insurance rates. But knowing and understanding those factors could help you get lower insurance rates.